Instead, St. Mary’s expanded the lead with tries from Loudon and flyhalf Mike McCarthy - McCarthy also added five conversions as St. Mary’s led 50-17 at the break.

It was another 50 in the second half, with No. 8 Vili Helu, wing Tommy Wallace, sub prop Cory Kroeger, sub back Wesley Chock, another two from Kroeger, and additional tries by Barton and McCarthy. McCarthy kicked five more conversions for a personal haul of 30. Wing Alex Pinon scored a try for Santa Clara, which Fitzgerald converted.

For St. Mary’s Head Coach Tim O’Brien, the performance elicited some praise.

“Our lineout was strong and our scrum improved,” he said. “Our pass-catch was at a pretty high efficiency rating, as was the 2nd side. I think it was a good performance.”

O’Brien chalked the improvement up to most of the roster now being healthy, a few players taking charge of their positions, and the team’s recent trip to New Zealand - a trip O’Brien himself did not take.

“People look at teams like St. Mary’s and expect a sort of linear progression, but it’s not like that and most years it’s not like that,” he said. “Last year we didn’t really start firing until we moved Kingsley [McGowan] to flyhalf. We’ve had other years where we’re moving players around and finding the right combination. We’ve gone on trips before - in 2013 it was Italy and that time we came back a different team - and one of our games was canceled. Last year it was the trip to the East Coast.”

And this year, it was New Zealand, and indeed the team came back a little different - refreshed.

Loudon was very effective at fullback and then later moved to wing and kept scoring. McCarthy now looks much more comfortable in the #10 jersey. Kroeger, who played center last year, is “just a beat,” said O’Brien. As a prop, he is learning some of the finer points and learning life embracing the suck in tight play, but he’s powerful, strong, and can run.

“Cory can outrun most backs,” said O’Brien. Kroeger scored three tries.

So it’s a revitalized and healthy St. Mary’s that faces Cal Poly next week in a winner-take-all conference matchup. If Cal Poly pulls off the upset, the Mustangs can wi the conference. St. Mary’s, though, it heavily favored, and only needs a tie, or two bonus points in a loss, to be champs.

All photos by Michael Geib.